Whatever It Takes, Tell Me You'll Stay
by MissZatanna
Summary: Her eyes look tired and worn out. For a girl of only fourteen, she looks a thousand years old. And being only two years older than her is weird since he feels like such a caretaker. But he's doing this for her, for the team. Because they need her and he's not going to let her go. He needs her.


**Words**: 1809  
**Characters**: Wally W./Kid flash, Zatanna Z.  
**Rating**: K+  
**A/N**: this was originally supposed to be like a debate between them with science and magic but it totally took a turn and now you have this thing. well... I hope you like it. **I do not own Young Justice or the characters.**

He loves science. Like really, really loves it. It's who he is, the braniac speedster, Wally West. (Even though he's the most impulsive person she knows, he's still really smart in situations where he can really think.) He became Kid Flash because of science and it's basically become his religion.

So when she's in the kitchen, working on a spell from that old dusty book she found in one of the many boxes in her new bedroom, he can't help but pop his head in. He totally does not believe in magic. Nope, no magic for Wallace Rudolph West. But he can't help but be entranced by the way she makes it look so easy.

Of course, it's all smoke and mirrors, so that definitely helps.

"Magic, huh?" he pipes up before making his way to the refrigerator. His sudden appearance startles the sorceress and she has to cough because he guesses something went down the wrong pipe. "Sorry." He gives her an apologetic smile and shrugs one shoulder.

Zatanna finally catches her breath and smiles back at him. "It's fine. How's training coming?" she asks, uncapping her water bottle and taking a sip.

He shrugs again and she tilts her head at him. Really, how many times can a person shrug in one conversation? He looks disheveled and tired which is both concerning yet very amusing at the same time. His hair is mussed in the front but sagging with some sweat that's collected into beads on his forehead. She knows that hand-to-hand is intense, and even though she doesn't train in that as much as they do, it's not hard to gather that it's tiring and definitely demanding. Being on the team is demanding enough...

"Zee?"

Her head snaps up to his worried look. And she has to admit, he gets that cute little crease between his eyebrows when he looks at her like that. "Sorry," she apologizes, closing the book in front of her and setting it aside. He gives a slight nod but the look doesn't go away. "Just distracted I guess."

Wally knows that it's hard. God, it's so hard. One minute she's on this team, fighting beside them like a real hero, and the next her world is crumbling before her. Not to be offending, but he totally hates Dr. Fate right now. And it's easy to understand her because, well, he just _understands. _Kent convinced Nabu to release him and he got out, he was free from the hero's grip. But now—now everything was different.

Her boxes aren't unpacked, barely even touched, same with food. She hasn't been eating lately and he can tell. Her face has gotten a bit thinner and her eyes are more tired every day. Sometimes she even comes out of her room with a cherry red nose and tear-stained cheeks. She even stumbles while walking or needs to sit down after walking not a long way because she's so weak. Yeah, he completely hates Nabu.

Without warning, he gets up and walks over to the fridge again. He pulls out an apple for himself and a water bottle. But he makes an unexpected stop to the cupboard just to the right. When he sits back down, he sits next to her instead of across from her this time. And he places the protein bar in front of her.

She raises an eyebrow and picks it up. "Um, no thanks."

And he's trying to be authoritative without being harsh or demanding. But he doesn't really see an in between with the two extremes. So he goes for the other approach. "Zee," he says softly, pushes the protein bar towards her slowly. "You need to eat. You haven't even touched food in a while."

She bites her lip. She can't disagree. Even though Zee had contemplated lying and saying she had, she can't. And anyway, she knows that Wally's been watching. She knows that _everyone's _been watching. But she tries it anyway just to see what he says. Holding up her water bottle, she shakes it slightly moving it back and forth. "I have water."

His eyes harden. Doesn't she get it? At any moment they could be called on a mission, on a war, for God's sake! The fact that she's being so careless about her health (and potentially the other member's safety) makes him want to yell. But he has to be empathetic. He gets it unlike everyone else. And that makes him feel like they have a special connection.

"Eat," he says. It's more demanding but still sounds like a plea. Because mostly it is. "Please."

Finally, her resolve breaks and she picks up the bar hesitantly. After unwrapping it and taking a bite, she feels like throwing up. Her body has been so used to not taking in food like this that it makes her sick. But she swallows it anyway and after a minute or two she feels okay. She takes another bite. God, she's missed s'more-flavored bars.

Wally just kind of watches her. He wants to make sure she's okay. And even though a protein bar isn't going to do much, it's better than nothing for now. He takes a bite of his apple and looks to her book. That too. She's been working day and night to get this one spell down. And she's so convinced that it'll free Zatara that she won't even rest until she gets it. She eats, sleeps, and breathes that dusty old relic.

When she's finished, the wrapper lay unattended to on the table and she takes a long gulp of her water. Wally's already done with his water by now so he gets up, grabs her wrapper, and is back in a second after throwing them both in the trash bin. Her eyes look tired and worn out. For a girl of only fourteen, she looks a thousand years old. And being only two years older than her is weird since he feels like such a caretaker. But he's doing this for her, for the team. Because they need her and he's not going to let her go. _He _needs her.

"C'mon," he whispers as he notices her eyes start to close as she leans on her elbow on the table. Her eyes pop open and she shakes her head, going to grab for the book. But he gets it before her and holds it away and out of her grasp.

"Wally." Her voice sounds icy and she gives him this glare that sends the hair on the back of his neck standing straight up. But he shakes it off.

"No, Zatanna. You need rest."

"What I need is to get this spell down." And she didn't notice when but her voice is suddenly louder and she's standing but in the same spot near the table.

Wally's concern turns to anger and eventually his worried look morphs into a scowl. "No, what you need is to stop being so immature." His voice comes out so much harsher than he wanted and he sees her wince. But he knows she's not going to stand down so he keeps going. "You're getting weaker by the minute, Zee, you can barely walk without stumbling, you're not eating, and you're so unfocused that you couldn't even do a simple levitating spell during training yesterday!"

She wants to deny it. She wants to deny all of it so badly. But she hasn't had time to make for things like food and training. Wally takes her silence as a sign to go on. "You're putting yourself in danger. You're putting _the team _in danger. Don't do that to them. They don't deserve it." And once it's out of his mouth, he can't believe he said it.

Zatanna recoils and nods once, looking at the floor instead. She can feel the sting of tears behind her eyes and she bites her lip to keep from crying. Wally's eyes soften and he puts the book down on the counter. In a flash, he's cradling her to his chest and speeding into her room. He has to think quick and dodge all over because her room is just _covered _in towers of boxes. She literally hasn't unpacked anything.

He sets her on the bed and watched as tears silently roll down her cheeks. She won't look up at him. And he hates it. "Zatanna, please." He cups her cheek and kind of tilts her head so maybe she would look at him. She does though hesitantly. "You know why I'm doing this."

She nods once before hugging him and burying her face in his chest. He's not one bit surprised. His arms just snake around her instinctively, holding her close and pressing his cheek to her ebony hair. He lets her get it all out. Ten minutes later, she's sniffling and wiping her eyes. Wally helps her into bed. Once she's tucked in and looking really adorable basically wrapped in her fuzzy purple blanket, he's about to leave. But she grasps his wrist last-minute, making him turn his head. And she has that look in her eyes.

They've been together for a while now and it just feels so right. They're contradictions to each other. And he loves it. They haven't told the team or anything, they wanted to keep it on the down low for a while, but it's basically official.

He climbs in with her. She snuggles against him and he wraps his arms around her, his front to her back. He listens to her steady breathing as it becomes lighter and she's closer to falling asleep. Once she's out cold, worn out from crying and working and just everything, he pulls her closer and kisses her hair. "I love you," he whispers. And she turns so that they're face to face, their foreheads barely touching. He strokes her cheek softly with one hand and kisses her forehead before closing his eyes. She'll be okay, he tells himself. She has me.


End file.
